1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-use key used for starting a vehicle and including an RIFD for enabling the communication with an external means, and a maintenance support/management system of a vehicle and a stolen-vehicle check system constituted by utilizing the vehicle-use key.
2. Description of Background Art
The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification: also referred to as an IC tag or an electronic tag) is a tag device which can perform the automatic identification by radio, and is an extremely minute tag device. The RFID includes an IC chip and an antenna. The IC chip further includes a radio circuit capable of performing transmission/reception with a memory, a control circuit and a decoding circuit. Recently, an extensive use of the RFID referred to as “IC tag” popularly in Japan has been expected as a minute tag device that functions as an electronic label.
With respect to a related art which applies an RFID (or IC tag) to a system or a device, various systems are known such as disclosed in JP-A-2005-157533 and JP-A-2006-282091. A product repair promotion system disclosed in JP-A-2005-157533 is configured such that an IC tag storing an identifier specifying a type of a product is attached to the product, and an IC tag reader for reading the identifier is installed in a store or the like. When a user visits a store carrying a product with him/her, the reader installed in the store reads the identifier of the product from the IC tag attached to the product, and a server determines the product, and manages the contents of the services to the product and the inventory of components of products, etc. A tire information transmission device disclosed in JP-A-2006-282091 is constituted of an IC tag attached to a back surface portion of a tire and a sensor unit attached to a tire wheel and performs radio communication with the IC tag. The information on the tire stored in the IC tag is transmitted to an ECU mounted on a vehicle body via the sensor unit of the tire wheel and an initiator on a vehicle body side. The tire information transmission device or the like is constituted by utilizing the equipment of a tire air pressure monitoring system which is originally mounted on the vehicle. As a result, it is unnecessary to provide dedicated auxiliary communication equipment as the tire information transmitting device. Thus, a realization in a reduction in the cost and a savings in space is achieved.
Further, there has been also proposed an automobile management system which performs a customer management by using a non-contact IC card instead of an RFID (IC tag). See, for example, JP-A-5-257941. In the automobile management system, an IC card is mounted on the automobile side and an external master unit is arranged outside the automobile. Via the radio communication between an IC card and an external master unit, necessary information is transmitted from the IC card to the external master unit. Accordingly, with such an automobile management system, in using an automobile, a client can perform the showing/collation of his/her driver's license or automobile inspection certification, a periodic check of the automobile, the use of a parking area, and an oil-filling operation, etc. The above-mentioned non-contact IC card is usually carried by a driver and is set in the automobile at the time of using the automobile.
In the system constitutions disclosed in JP-A-2005-157533 and JP-A-2006-282091, the RFID is assembled in the product or the tire. Accordingly, when the product, that is, the tire or the vehicle per se is stolen, the RFID per se is stolen together with the product or the like. As a result, information is lost and the stolen vehicle may not be found. Further, in the device disclosed in JP-A-5-257941 which uses the IC card, the IC card per se does not form a constitutional element associated with the vehicle to inevitably form an integral part of the vehicle. Accordingly, it is necessary for a user to be always be conscious of whether or not the user carries the IC card with him/her.